ANCIENT AEGEAN ART
Map of Ancient Aegean Art
Cycladic
Mycenaen
Minoan
Compare these two works.
Seated male lyre player
Cyclades, Greece
ca. 2700 - 2500 BCE
marble; approx. 9” high
National Archeological
Museum, Athens
• What is suggested by the pose that the figure strikes as he plays?
• What conclusions can we make about this culture from this small statue?
3
A”
B”
C”
Compare these works.
D”
1
Figurine of a woman
Cyclades, Greece
ca. 2500 - 2300 BCE
marble; approx. 1’ 6” high
National Archeological Museum, Athens
• Art historians generally talk about the
“geometricization” of the Cycladic figures.
• How does the artist reduce this figure to its
fundamental geometries?
• What kind of comparison can be made
between this figure and other female figures
you have seen, especially from the
Paleolithic period?
• Compare
What aspects
of the figure
has the
these
works
of artist
art.
emphasized? What has he deemphasized?
• What pose does the figure seem to be
striking, and how do you interpret that pose?
3
Palace at
Knossos (plan)
Crete, Greece
ca. 1700 - 1400
BCE
• The Palace at Knossos is also called the Palace of Minos.
• What conclusions can you make about the use of space based on this plan?
• What do you think the architect had in mind as he planned this space? Can
you imagine how this space might have been planned?
4
Interior stairwell
(residential area)
Palace at Knossos
Crete, Greece
ca. 1700 - 1400 BCE
• Compare these columns with
Egyptian columns.
• How are these columns different
from Egyptian columns?
5
Bull-leaping; Palace at Knossos Crete, Greece; ca. 1450 - 1400 BCE
fresco approx. 2’ 8” high (including border)
Archeological Museum, Herakleion
• Describe the stylizations of the figures.
• How is the bull depicted? What adjectives come to mind as you look at it?
• Can we understand anything about this culture from the border of the fresco?
6
Bull Leaping (detail)
5
Warm up: Compare these two works.
7
Spring Fresco (landscape with swallows)
Cyclades, Greece
ca. 1650 BCE
fresco; approx.7’ 6” high
Marine Style octopus jar
Crete, Greece
ca. 1500 BCE
approx. 11” high
Archeological Museum,
Herakleion
• How do form and content come harmoniously together in this jar?
Snake Goddess
Palace at Knossos
Crete, Greece
ca. 1600 BCE
faience, type of ceramic
approx. 1’ 1” high
Archeological Museum, Herakleion
•
Q 10.1: What strikes you as immediately significant about this citadel?
Citadel at Tiryns (aerial view)
Tiryns, Greece
ca. 1400 - 1200 BCE
Citadel at Tiryns (plan view)
Tiryns, Greece
ca. 1200 - 1400 BCE
• If you were going to attack this
citadel, how would you do it?
• What would be the challenges
you would face as an attacker?
• How do you think it might be
defended?
SPAN
A
B
C
• A span is a distance to be bridged in architecture; the diagram
shows three ways of bridging a span.
• “A” is a post-and-lintel (also called post-and-beam) construction
• “B” is corbelled construction
• “C” is arch construction
Lion Gate
Mycenae,
Greece
ca. 1300 - 1250
BCE
limestone
relief panel
approx. 9’ 6” high
• The span is bridged by a post-and-lintel construction, above which is a
large block called a “relieving arch,” as it transfers the downward forces
out to the posts.
• Do you notice anything noteworthy about the column between the two
lions?
Vault of the tholos of the
Treasury of Atreus
Mycenae, Greece
ca. 1300 - 1250 BCE
approx. 43’ high at center
Compare the tholos with one other structure.
• This space is sometimes
referred to as a “beehive.”
• What is “Cyclopean
construction”?
Funerary Mask
Grave Circle A
Mycenae, Greece
ca. 1600 - 1500 BCE
beaten gold
approx. 1’ high
National Archeological
Museum, Athens
• This death mask is sometimes called the Mask of Agamemnon, but
scholars are quite certain that it isn’t his face beaten into the mask, as he
lived some 300 years after this mask was made. Repousse is a technique
of pounding metal against a shape to create form.
Warrior Vase
Mycenae,
Greece
ca. 1200 BCE
approx. 1’ 4” high
National
Archaeological
Museum, Athens
• Compare / contrast these figures with earlier figures from other cultures.
Exit slip: Compare these two works.
Aegean Art Key Concepts
• The art of the Cyclades, the islands off of Greece to its east,
Crete, and the western Greek mainland, Mycenae reveal a
rich history of Greece before “Greek Art,” as we think of it,
has begun being made.
• Cycladic art shows us a people who were interested in
music and life, as well as with some funerary rituals. Women
also appear to be important in this culture.
• The art of Crete, especially the Palace at Knossos, reveals
a vibrant, lively culture in which a relationship to the sea was
of fundamental importance. Bull imagery was also important
to the Cretan people.
• The art of Mycenae reveals a culture focused on its own
defense, suggesting that it was warring with others.